In Vancouver’s suburbs, one can easily wait up to one hour for service, half an hour on busier routes, and that is if the buses don’t break down as they sometimes do.

Thus, 50 cents more for a three-zone fare when people are already paying enough (many having left Vancouver for more affordable housing) is ludicrous, not to mention the 12.5-per-cent increase on passes.

My dad is Coast Mountain bus driver and I know that it will mean improved bus service, increased work time for him and give TransLink more revenue because of increased ridership.

It’s not an easy decision to raise fares . . . but public transit is very important to the health of a city and the environment.

I think its time for more people to get out of their cars and use public transit. I am fed up with people who want something for nothing!

Michelle Gracey, Langley

A little sugar?

How about giving a little back, TransLink! How long have we been stuck at the 90-minute time allowed for our single tickets?

If you’re going to increase fares, is it so wrong to ask for maybe an extra 30 minutes to our allotted time on the tickets?

What’s that song? “A spoonful of sugar, helps the medicine go down . . . .” Give us some sugar!

Lawrence Montgomery, Vancouver

We don’t even jail people who kill people

The report about the mistreatment of that poor little dog by its owners was hard to read. Then I read the part about the possible punishment they face if convicted — up to five years in jail, a $75,000 fine and a ban on owning animals — and I had to laugh.

I think we all know what will happen. If this ever goes to court in one or two years there will be no jail time, no fine and likely no ban on owning animals. After all, we live in a country where you can kill someone and not go to jail so why would our justice system go after these people for mistreating a dog?

We don’t need more laws and harsher penalties, we need to enforce the laws we already have and get serious about punishment.

Andy Norgaard, Nanaimo

It’s only because they’re cute

The only reason there is all the fuss over these rabbits — AKA “bunnies” — is the fact that they are cute. If they were rats or crows the tune would be different.

If you want to dispose of them, remember that rabbit is very tasty and a sustainable food source, their fur makes lovely mittens and we’ve all seen those rabbit’s foot key chains.

Ask any vegetable farmer in Richmond and they will say eradicate them completely. And if you ever go to Australia, you’d be wise not to ever mention the word “rabbit.”

Remember to rub your rabbit’s foot for good luck.

Brian Barnes, Steveston

Where is democracy?

Over and over we hear that there is not enough “public disclosure” and that many government decisions are being made behind closed doors or being foisted on us in omnibus bills.

We are quickly losing our quality of life here in B.C. and in Canada because of these many unilateral decisions. The brilliant — not! — idea of town centres has snowballed into rampant densification without infrastructure costs being kept up and without meaningful public dialogue. Foreign workers are coming into B.C. at the expense of B.C. workers. And what exactly is this trade deal with China?

Where is our democracy? It is no wonder people are becoming apathetic and the wrong people are elected after a brief period of supposed “transparency” leading up to elections of all levels of government.

If this infrastructure is so important, I believe Robertson should be more responsible with the taxpayer’s money, instead of recklessly squandering it on initiatives that are detrimental to the capacity of our roads.

The underutilized bike lanes have proved an expensive obstruction to traffic needing to navigate the downtown core, and the initiative to tear down the viaducts will only decrease much-needed road capacity in a growing region at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

While I agree that the federal government should be investing in our roads and bridges nationwide, I believe that Robertson should show responsibility and use taxpayer dollars wisely.

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